Getting out of the hobby

Okay, I'll bite. I'm in my mid-30's. I've always loved older gear of all types: A/V, computers, photographic, automotive, you name it. For me, its the thrill of running something discarded or obsolete, learning all I can about it, fixing it and then doing something useful with it. I'm currently writing this on an ATARI 800, booted to a "VT100" terminal program off a 5 1/4 disk drive, talking through an original serial interface box, direct to OPA0 on my VMS box. The only modern piece of hardware between me and the world right now is the internet connection. I don't spend much on the pieces I aquire, but I tend to stay pretty focused. Similarly, I don't sell the stuff I pass on for very much either. I try to keep it in the community -- when I cut my pile in half a couple years ago, I probably could have doubled or tripled my money had I sold on ebay rather than to local club members. All that having been said, I really really want to aquire a PDP-11 and build an S100 machine and find a real VT100. Given the price of these things in the world right now... And here is where I agree with the OP, it sucks, competing between the scrappers and the heavy duty collectors is just something this guy can't do. Anyway, not sure this actually contributes to the conversation, but I felt compelled to chime in at some point. Best, -- Jason Sent from my DEC 3000 running VMS 8.4